From Kelsey Grammer as Frasier Crane to Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa, some actors just can’t get away from their most famous character. Playing an iconic role in a movie or a TV show can be a gift and a curse for an actor. It launches them to stardom and often paves the way for more roles in other projects, but they’re forever associated with that character. Daniel Radcliffe will always be Harry Potter, Elijah Wood will always be Frodo Baggins, and Kristen Stewart will always be Bella Swan.
Sometimes, an actor is not only inextricably linked to their most well-known character, but gets stuck playing that role for years and years – despite trying to leave it behind somewhere along the line. Hugh Jackman gave Wolverine a perfect sendoff in Logan, but the producers managed to convince him to reprise the role in Deadpool 3. Arnold Schwarzenegger has continued playing the T-800 through various reboots and retcons of the Terminator franchise. From Michael Keaton as Batman to Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode, some actors just can’t seem to escape their most iconic role.
15 Arnold Schwarzenegger (T-800)
Since the popularity of the Terminator franchise is mostly due to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s star power, the actor keeps being hired to play the T-800 in sequels and reboots. Every few years, Schwarzenegger is brought back for another Terminator sequel in the futile hope of finally matching the greatness of Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Schwarzenegger has had to play such oddball Terminators as a T-800 who raised Sarah Connor as “Pops” and a T-800 who settled down into civilian life as “Carl.”
14 Steve Coogan (Alan Partridge)
Steve Coogan has created many comedy characters over the years – Tommy Saxondale, Paul and Pauline Calf, even a fictionalized version of himself – but the one character that will follow him for the rest of his life is socially inept broadcaster Alan Partridge. Coogan put Partridge on hiatus after the second and final season of I’m Alan Partridge, but the character got a second life when Neil and Rob Gibbons joined the writing team. Alan has since starred in a handful of new TV series and stage shows, written a couple of memoirs, and starred in his own movie, Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa.
13 Harrison Ford (Han Solo/Indiana Jones)
Unlike his co-star Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford never really embraced his Star Wars fame. Ford wanted Han Solo to be killed off as early as Return of the Jedi, but the character was kept alive and Ford was brought back to reprise his role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Ford finally got his wish when Han died in The Force Awakens, but then he was brought back for a cameo as a Force vision in The Rise of Skywalker. Ford can’t escape his other George Lucas role, Indiana Jones, either, having starred in three separate endings to Indy’s story.
12 Kelsey Grammer (Frasier Crane)
Despite multiple efforts to launch a sitcom where he plays a different character – Hank, Partners, Back to You, Gary the Rat – Kelsey Grammer can never seem to make any other sitcom role catch on the way Frasier Crane did. Grammer originated the role of Frasier as a supporting character in Cheers before starring in his own self-titled spin-off Frasier, which, like Cheers, was on the air for a whopping 11 seasons. He also guest-starred as Frasier in a Wings crossover and is now working on a Frasier reboot.
11 David Jason (Derek Trotter)
David Jason starred as Derek “Del Boy” Trotter on Only Fools and Horses from 1981 to 2003, and he’s since reprised the role in various shorts and TV specials. Jason made cameo appearances as Del Boy in both Strictly Come Dancing and The Apprentice. The actor has plenty of other iconic TV roles, like Granville from Open All Hours and Detective Inspector Jack Frost in A Touch of Frost, but none of them are as iconic as Del Boy. Del Boy is a defining figure in British comedy.
10 Michael Keaton (Batman)
After redefining the role of Bruce Wayne for a new generation in Batman and Batman Returns, Michael Keaton stepped down and relinquished the part to Val Kilmer before the third movie. But Warner Bros. eventually got Keaton back for a third Batman movie three decades later with his supporting role in the multiversal madness of The Flash. Keaton also shot scenes as Batman for the Batgirl movie that Warner Bros. canceled, and he was being primed as one of the stars of the DC Extended Universe before it was rebooted by James Gunn and Peter Safran.
9 Leonard Nimoy (Spock)
Leonard Nimoy is inseparable from his career-defining role as Spock. Even when Star Trek was rebooted with a new timeline more than 40 years after its debut and the role of Spock was recast with Zachary Quinto, Nimoy still came back to play the alternate Spock from the original timeline. Nimoy’s final film role before he passed away was a cameo as Spock Prime in Star Trek: Into Darkness, and the actor has posthumously appeared in Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Prodigy via archival footage.
8 Hugh Jackman (Wolverine)
Between the original X-Men movie and his bittersweet swansong Logan, Hugh Jackman set the Guinness World Record for the longest on-screen tenure as a live-action Marvel character with his turn as Wolverine. After Logan laid the character to rest, Jackman was ready to retire from the role. However, he’s since been convinced to reprise the role alongside Ryan Reynolds’ Merc with a Mouth in Deadpool 3, making that record-setting tenure even longer.
7 Bryan Cranston/Aaron Paul (Walter White & Jesse Pinkman)
Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul will forever be remembered as chemistry teacher-turned-meth kingpin Walter White and his trusty sidekick Jesse Pinkman from Breaking Bad. In the decade since Breaking Bad went off the air, Cranston and Paul have reappeared as Walt and Jesse in every live-action spin-off project. They reprised their roles in the final episodes of Better Call Saul, and Paul even got his own solo movie; El Camino tied up Jesse’s loose ends from the finale and featured a much-hyped cameo appearance by Cranston.
6 Ricky Gervais (David Brent)
The role of inept regional manager David Brent in The Office put Ricky Gervais on the map and launched a comedy career that has lasted decades. Despite starring in hit shows like Extras, Derek, and After Life, Gervais will always be best remembered for his turn as David. Gervais reprised the role in a couple of episodes of the U.S. remake of The Office and even starred in his own solo movie, David Brent: Life on the Road, written and directed by himself.
5 Peter Cullen (Optimus Prime)
Peter Cullen first started voicing Optimus Prime in the original Transformers animated series in the 1980s, and he’s still playing the part to this day. Cullen has voiced Optimus in every live-action Transformers movie since Michael Bay’s 2007 original, as well as new animated shows, video games, and a theme park ride. Optimus wouldn’t sound right with anyone else’s voice, so Cullen is guaranteed to get a call every single time a Transformers project goes into development.
4 Sylvester Stallone (Rocky Balboa)
Ever since Sylvester Stallone launched his own movie star career with the Oscar-nominated script for Rocky, he’s been inextricably tied to the role of Rocky Balboa. Stallone reprised his role as Rocky in four direct sequels, then in a legacy sequel, Rocky Balboa. Nine years after that, Stallone reprised his role as Rocky yet again as a mentor figure to the title character in the spin-off movie Creed and its own sequel, Creed II. Creed earned Stallone his second Academy Award nomination for playing Rocky.
3 Jamie Lee Curtis (Laurie Strode)
Jamie Lee Curtis kicked off her career as a “scream queen” with the role of iconic final girl Laurie Strode in John Carpenter’s seminal slasher Halloween. Curtis was brought back to reprise her role in three sequels in the original continuity (Halloween II, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, and Halloween: Resurrection) and another three sequels in the rebooted continuity (Halloween, Halloween Kills, and Halloween Ends). Curtis has played many horror roles over the years, but Laurie has constantly overshadowed them.
2 Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean)
Rowan Atkinson is a master of physical comedy, and the role of Mr. Bean is the best vehicle for those talents. Mr. Bean’s mostly non-verbal antics give Atkinson plenty of opportunities for slapstick gags. Atkinson has played the roles of Edmund Blackadder and Johnny English multiple times, but neither of them had the longevity or global cultural impact of Mr. Bean. Mr. Bean’s own TV show only ran for 15 episodes, but he’s since appeared in two movies, an animated series, multiple commercials, and the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony.
1 David Tennant & Others (The Doctor)
Once an actor has played The Doctor in an incarnation of Doctor Who, they’re stuck with that role for life. It’s a tradition for Doctor actors to return immediately after they’ve left the role so they can regenerate into the next Doctor. David Tennant has played both the Tenth Doctor and the Fourteenth Doctor. Tennant, David Bradley, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, and Paul McGann all came back for “The Power of the Doctor,” a special episode produced to celebrate the BBC’s Centenary.